Of Two Minds: The Revolutionary Science of Dual Brain Psychology

Most people experience themselves as two-sided: one side seems mature and stable, the other emotional and impulsive. But have you ever wondered if there really are two minds in each of us? If so, do traumatic as well as ordinary experiences affect the way our minds grow and interact? According to Fredric Schiffer, a leading Harvard psychiatrist and researcher, advances in science prove what many of us have always intuited is true: We are of two minds, each one with a different degree of maturity, and each one associated with the left or the right brain. This brilliant, provocative book illustrates how the interaction of these two minds-- whether they sabotage each other or work in harmony-- actually determines our psychological nature and ultimately the emotional problems or progress we may experience in life. Drawing on his own twenty-five years of research on the brain and behavior, Schiffer gives us overwhelming evidence that each side of our brain possesses an autonomous, distinct personality-- with its own set of memories, motivations, and behaviors. In working with his patients, Schiffer discovered that strategically altering someone's visual field can positively or negatively affect that person's sense of well-being. He shows how using this technique of visual stimulation can activate the specific regions of the brain that harbor both traumatic and joyful memories. This dramatic breakthrough demonstrates how it is possible to access, isolate, and work with the memories encoded on one side of the brain.

Dr. Schiffer's dual-brain approach has yielded remarkable results with a wide range of emotional disorders, from anxiety and depression to addiction and stress-induced heart disease-- offering an exciting new perspective on therapy. Just as earlier investigations of the brain and its cognitive functions revolutionized our understanding of how we think, "Of Two Minds" transforms our understanding of how and why we experience emotional distress and conflicts, and suggests a path to a more harmonious, balanced relationship between our two selves.